108 
THE KILIM A-NJAB 0 EXPEDITION. 
allow me to take his portrait, I was once able surrep- 
tiously to sketch his left ear. The lobe of the other 
ear was hung with a few small steel chains, and was 
less remarkable. He had a row of splendid teeth, 
though there was a slight, probably artificial, space in 
the centre of the upper incisors. Through this 
aperture he would often squirt his saliva or his mouth¬ 
ful of banana-beer whenever he grew animated. The 
colour of his skin was a bluish brown, if you can 
realize such a combination—I mean a glossy umber 
with a bloom on it—and there was an entire absence 
of hair on his face, and the wool of his head was 
shaved close. As he says he can remember Rebmann’s 
visit to Kilima-njaro (which took place in 1848), 
and was about three or four years old at the time, his 
approximate age at the present time would be about 
forty years. When I saw him he looked somewhat 
older, but this is evidently due to premature age 
creeping over him after a life of unrestrained passions. 
Mandara had a singularly winning smile, utterly un¬ 
like the African grin. While his somewhat curling, 
cruel lips would relax and display the glistening teeth, 
his brows would be puckered in a half puzzled, half 
petulant manner, and at the same time his one, 
round, living eye, into which all his strong feeling was 
concentrated, gleamed and glanced with roguish 
merriment. As he sat and played with his presents, 
like a great child, impatiently wanting the Swahilis to 
explain everything in a breath, this smile would con¬ 
stantly pass over his face, and lent it each time a 
very pleasing, kindly look. He was evidently in a 
thoroughly good temper on the day of my arrival. He 
listened attentively to the reading of Sir John Kirk’s 
letter, examined the seals of the Consulate, asked 
